Speed reducing device for railway cars



A. A. JOHNSON 1,845,282

SPEED REDUCING DEVICE FOR RAILWAY GARS Filed Sept. 17, 1929.

Feb. 16, 1932.

Patented Feb. 16, 1932- UNITED STATES nvm A. Jonson, or emesso.'ILLINOIS SPEED' BEDUCING DEVICE FOB RAILWAY 0.538

Application mea september 1v, 1929. serial mi. :$93,132.

This invention relates to speed-reducing Y devices for railway cars,and, more particularly, to a device to be associated with the tracks ofa freight yard for the purpose ofv reducing the speed of cars which havebeen pushed up the yard lead and then cut loose to ride freely into theyard.

Devices of this character heretofore proposed have quite generally takenthe form of a brake, or brakes, mounted in proximity to the tracks, andoperated by a switchman upon signal from men riding the cars, theoperating means including, generally, complicated compressed airapparatus or electric switches. Such devices are unsatisfacory for anumber of reasons; being complicated, they are expensive to install andmaintain, and

they require the services of many men for efficient operation.

My invention, while in the nature of an improvement upon devices of thischaracter heretofore proposed, departs from the general mode ofoperation in that I-contemplate a device which shall normally be inoperative position to oii'er resistance to the passage of the freightcars, and which does not require the services of switchmen and othersto' carry out its function.

My invention also contemplates the provision of a device of thecharacter set forth which shall be of simple construction eIi1-.

bodying few parts which can readily be assembled and disassembled. i

A further object of my invention is to provide, in a device of thischaracter, a brake member which is normally urged toward' the track byvresilient means such as springs which are entirely covered and thusshielded against inclement weather.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thedescription proceeds. v

In the accompanying drawings, I have il. lustrated a practicalembodiment of my-invention; but it is to be understood that the drawingsare illustrative, merely, and that my invention is susceptible of a widerange of modification without sacrificing any of its salient features ordeparting from its scope as defined in the appended claims.

In these drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan View showing my car speed# reducingdevice associated with tracks of ordinary construction;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing, o n an enlar ed scale, thedetails of construct1on of my evice;

t. Fig.3 is a fragmentaryV longitudnal secion;

VFig. 4 is a fra mentar ers ective view of the brake membr; y p P Fig. 5is a fragmentary perspectiveview showing a supporting upright andsideplate construction; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary perspective-view of a tielate.

Re erring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the reference numerals 10 indicatea pair of tracks of ordinary construction, it being my intention that mycar speed-reducing device shall be applicable to standard equipmenteverywhere in use. The referenge numerals 11 indicate, generally, thespeedieducing devices ofmy invention and, as will'be seen from aninspection of Fig. 1, there is one such device located at the inside andin close proximity to each of the tracks 10.

Each of the speed-reducing devices 11 includes a base or tie-plate 12secured to the ties by any suitable means. This plate will be made ofheavy gauge metal and, while it may be of any desired length, I prefer,in actual practice, to use plates about sixteen feet long. The tie-plate12 is provided with a plurality of uniformly spaced slots 13 extendinginwardly from one of its edges.

Slidably mounted in each ofthe slots 13 is a supporting upright 14provided at'its lower edge with oppositely bent flanges 15 and 16, theformer of which rests on top, and the latter below, the tie-plate 12, asclearly shown in Fig. 3. The flange 16 extends beyond the edge of thetie-plate, as shown in Fig. 2, and is secured by suitable means, such asrivets 17, to a switch-rod 18 for a purpose herein- 95 after more fullybrought out.

The supporting uprights 14 are connected by means of a side-plate 19which is provided with angle-irons 20 secured, as by rivets, to theuprights 14. Thus, the uprights 14 and 10P the latter being cut away asat 28 to permit` side-plate 19 form a rigid structure which may,however, be readily dismantled for the purpose of making repalrs andreplacements.

Each of the uprights 14 is provided at its upper end with a flange 21which supports the brake member of my device which will now bedescribed. The brake member comprises a: channel 22, the web of which isprovided with a strip 23 of suitable metal or other brake material, thestrip 23 being secured to the channel as by countersunk rivets 24,whereb it may be removed and replaced when desired. A top-plate 25 and abottom-plate 26 are secured to the channel 22 by any suitable means. Theplate 26 is provided with spaced slots 27 which are adapted to receivean edge of the uprights 14,

transverse sliding movement of the brake member with respect to theuprights. The top flange 21 of the uprights 14 is slidablo in guides .29secured to the lower face .of the top-plate 25, as shown in Fig. 3.

At suitably spaced points along the device, I have provided resilientmeans in the form of springs 30 inserted between the brake member andthe side-plate 19. Bearing cups 31 are secured to the inner face ot theweb of the channel 22 and similar cups 32 are secured to an angle 33riveted or otherwise secured to the inner face of the end-plate 19. Thebearing cups 31 are provided with T-slots or keyhole openings to receivethe head of a bolt 34 which passes through the cups 32, the angle 33,and the end-plate 19, the projecting end of the bolt being provided withan adjusting nut 35. The springs 30 tend normally to urge the brakemember toward the track and, thus, the brake member offers yieldingresistance to the passage of the wheels of the cars riding on the track.

From an inspection of Fig. 2, it will be seen that the top-plate 25extends to and overlies the edge of the end-plate 19, thus covering thesprings 30 and shielding them from accumulation of snow and ice. Thisfigure also shows that the springs 30 are completely housed by thearrangement of the channel 22, the plates 25 and 26, the end-plate 19,and the angle 33.

It is believed that from the foregoing description, the construction ofmy speed-reducing device will be readily understood by those skilled inthe art. The operation of my device will also readily be understood andit may be summarized as follows:

. Fig. 2 discloses my speed-reducing device in normal operativeposition, the brakemember. being located in close proximity to the trackand extending a slight distance, say four inches, above the track sothat it will engage the side or iange of a wheel. The brake material andthe force of the springs 30 cooperate to oi'er yielding resistance tothe passage of the wheel, it being understood that it is not myintention-that the device shall com-4 pletely stop the cars but onlyoffer such resistance to their passage as will be effective to reducetheir speed from, say, twelve miles per hour to two orhthree miles perhour. The brake member, as stated, will normally be in position tofunction as above described, but it may be desirable to render thedevice inoperative, at times, and for this purpose the switch-rods 18are operated by any suitable means to draw the uprights 14 andassociated elements outwardly through the slots 13 in the tie-plate 12.By this arrangement, the brake member is moved away from the track asuitable distance to permit free passage of the wheels of the cars.

I claim:

1. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a tie-plateprovided with slots, uprights movably mounted in said slots, and a brakemember slidably supported on said uprights.

2. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a tie-plateprovided with slots, uprights movably mounted in said slots, meansjoining said uprights, and a brake member slidably supported on saiduprights.

3. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a tie-plateprovided with slots, upright-s movably mounted in said slots, meansjoining said uprights, a brake member slidably supported on saiduprights, and means connecting said brake member to said joining means.

4. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a tie-plateprovided with slots, uprights movably mountedv in said slots, meansjoining said uprights, a brake member slidably supported on saiduprights, and resilient means connecting said brake member and saidjoining means.

5. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a tie-plateprovided with slots, uprights movably mounted in said slots, a brakemember supported on said uprights', and means connected to said uprightsfor adjusting them in said slots.

6. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a tie-plateprovided with slots, uprights movably mounted in said slots, a brakemember supported on said uprights, a iiange on said uprights extendingbeyond said tie-plate, and means connected to said flan ge for adjustingthe uprights in said slots.

7 A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a plurality ofuprights, an end-plate connecting said uprights, a channel-shaped brakemember supported on said uprights, a plate on the brake member overlyingsaid end-plate, and springs connectingr said brake member and saidend-plate, said springs being covered by the plate on the brake member.

8. A speed-reducing device for railway cars including a plurality ofuprights, an

endlate connecting said uprights, a brake mem er slidably supported onsaid uprights, springs joining said brake member and said end-plate, andmeans to adjust the tension of said springs.

In testimony whereof, I aiix my signature.

ALVIN A. JOHNSON.

